[to Starling] I dunno, maybe people will start reviewing after this thing's finished. What do you think?
Starling: One can always dream.
You're no help. So be it. I might just threaten to end this whole thing…[gets jumped on by the Elemental Four] Ow! Ouch! Okay, okay! Ow! I promise! I won't quit yet! Ow! Was that really called for??
Kalerian: Just so you know, at least we care. [bonks Niana] So don't go giving up.
It's nice to know that my figments care about me. TT I know a few people that don't get along with theirs.
Starling: Those poor, pitiable people.
I know. [grins while listening to one of her new YYH soundtracks] Hey, everyone, I'm back from Fanime, and you wouldn't believe the LOOT I brought home! Of course, then there's all the loot that I didn't have the money to buy…
Starling: Is that why you owe Patrick so much money and a favor?
Shh! They aren't supposed to know that!!
Starling: Oopsie. ;)
Anyway, I went as Koto (that kawaii fox-girl announcer from YYH Dark Tournament) and my group was really popular. Lots of photo ops (visit Fanime's site if you wanna see! Or was that funimation?) and we even had Shizuru (my friend Tina) and a couple people from other teams. In fact the only one we were missing was Genkai. [sigh] I loved every second of it, but I'm glad to be home, able to sleep in a real bed. The floor of San Jose's Hilton, even with a sleeping bag/swiped quilt, was hard as a friggin' rock.
PS. Please remember, most if not all of the Tarot cards you encounter in this fanfic are totally made up. If curious, please consult your nearest Tarot deck. Thank you. --Mgmt.
Chapter Eighteen: The Trouble with Tarot…
=====================================
Ranma does a double take as he walks down the street, shocked at what he sees. A rather battered Rei and another boy with slicked back black hair--Yusuke? his mind suggests helpfully--yeah, Yusuke, also very battered, are getting helped towards Tofu's clinic by the rest of Rei's 'siblings', a really short kid, a really thick-looking orange-haired guy, a guy with long red hair and the same eyes as Rei, and Akane.
"Jeez, what happened to you two?" he asks, leaping across the street and falling into step beside them. Rei gives him a lopsided smile due to a split lower lip, utterly cheerful despite her injuries.
"Not muth. Me'n Yuthke jutht whapped on eath other for fun, ith all."
"Sparring match that got a bit out of hand," Kalerian explains more clearly. "We had a bit of a frustrating afternoon, and Rei wanted someone to try pounding on, so Yusuke here volunteered. Nice save by the way, Hiei." This last is directed at the shortest member of the group, and Ranma remembers that this boy was also at that disastrous sparring match. "I didn't think you could bend like that."
"Hn."
"Ow! Wouldja watch that bruise?" is the plaintive--and cranky--request from Yusuke to Masaya, who is supporting the boy's far side.
"Well, if you two hadn't gone overboard, we wouldn't have used so much energy shielding ourselves, and we'd heal you ourselves without having to drag you to Dr. Tofu's." Kohaku pokes him in the forehead and he yelps; she hit a tender spot.
"I don't remember feeling any ki spikes. And from the looks of those burns, I'd say Rei used a couple. Where'd you guys go?"
"A temple about an hour and a half from Sarayashiki Senior High." (A/N: I know, they're actually in junior high in the anime/manga, but damn it, I need to tweak it 'cause the Ranma cast is older. Thbbt!)
"How did you get so far so fast?" Ranma asks in amazement.
"Same way we get anywhere that's too far to run," Masaya says cheerfully. "We snap out."
"Huh?"
"Think if it as instant transportation, keyed to a snap of the fingers. Except in this case, with so many people, a diagram of ki and will is needed to direct. Getting us back is what took what ki we had left to spare, which is why we're taking these two to Dr. Tofu. Oh, hi, Tofu-sensei!" The others blink--they hadn't realized they'd walked so far.
"Oh, hello, Masaya. Everyone. What happened to these two?" The question's tone is interest as the doctor ushers them into his clinic.
"Eh, just a bit of rough-housing that got out of control."
"Oh?" Tofu's voice holds only a hint of disbelief and he gestures for the two combatants to be seated on the exam table. He keeps up a running mild commentary while fixing them up, hands blurring with bandages and salves appearing in their wake. Joints are popped back into place, Rei suddenly finds herself holding an ice-pack to her lip, Yusuke holds a compress to a goose-egg lump on his head. "Interesting dislocation there, Yusuke." SNAP.
"Ow!"
"And these friction-burns, Rei. However did Yusuke get these on you so neatly?" "Doctor Tofu, that's rather uncomfor-ow." "Sorry about that." Verbal pause. "I must say, you did a nice job on this arm, Rei." "Dammit, doc, that hurts!!" "Oh, calm down, Yusuke. You'll have it back in full working order in twenty minutes. How did this piece of wood get here, anyway?" "YE-OW!"
"Are you certain this doctor knows what he is doing, onna?" Hiei mutters curiously to Akane, who smiles reassuringly.
"Oh, yes. Dr. Tofu is very skilled. These two won't even know they're hurt in a few hours." A few more sounds of extreme discomfort are made by the two as the spectacled man finishes up and pats both of them on the head like an indulgent grandparent.
"I hope you're on good terms with your escort, you two. I'm afraid you'll need to stay off your legs for at least another fifteen minutes. That's means you get piggy-back rides home. Oh, and Yusuke, like I told you; no using that arm for twenty minutes. Rei, no using that hand for an hour."
"Aw," both chorus in an uncannily similar voice. "But Doctor Tofu--!" "But Doc--!"
"No buts. Otherwise you'll have to come back in here, and I'm sure you'd rather not, right."
A sigh in stereo. "Yes, Doctor Tofu."
The older man turns to the uninjured teens and smiles. "All right, they're all yours."
"Thanks, Doctor Tofu," Rei says cheerfully, half her face hidden by white cotton bandages, the other half relatively unharmed. She gently pokes an intact spot on the side of Yusuke closest to her when it becomes clear that Yusuke isn't going to say anything. "Yuuuusuke…"
"All right, all right. Thanks, Doc."
"Anytime, you two," is the merry reply as Kalerian takes Rei and Masaya takes Yusuke. Hiei isn't trying hard to hide a smug smirk at the Spirit Detective's predicament as the motley group files out, Kuwabara just laughing.
===
"So who won, anyway?" Akane asks suddenly as the group walks--or gets carried--towards the Tendo Dojo, the closest 'refuge' to the clinic. "I didn't catch everything."
Kohaku chuckles. "The fact that you managed to catch anything is a sign of how much your skills have improved since we got here, Akane-chan. These two were moving like sugar-high lightning on speed. Ye gods, Rei, how did you get so fast? You weren't nearly so quick when we trained under Master Yuki."
Rei's grin is somewhat dimmer due to the wrappings, but still gleeful for all of that. "Dad opened up a few of the old 'Secret Technique' scrolls he's had rotting in the basement and let me go over them. A couple of them are like souped-up, over-charged versions of Fury-Claws and Wildfire-Fox. Absolutely brilliant, really."
Hiei gives her one of his classic looks. "I was under the impression that your skill levels are on par with Kurama. Yet you manage to hold your own against the strongest of our team."
"Okay, so I was exaggerating a bit. I'm still not the strongest, though." For some reason her good eye drifts in Ranma's direction. "Besides, I know for a fact Yusuke here wasn't going full out on me."
The boy snorts. "Why should I? You're a girl and you're weaker than me. Ow, watch it!"
"You want to get dumped on your ass, Yusuke?" is the acidic question from Masaya, reshifting his grip on the black-haired boy after jolting him.
"No, I don't! Why?"
"'Cause if you piss Rei off I'm dumping you and running for the hills."
"What?" Yusuke blinks, confused, and shivers at the cold amusement of Rei's voice. The last time he heard her talk like that was when she was giving that Chard guy a going-over.
"Surely you didn't think that I was giving my all, Urameshi."
"What, you mean you weren't?"
"If I were to use everything in my arsenal, I'd kill you instantly." Her voice is icy, emotionless, and utterly matter-of-fact. "Just because I do not have the physical or the spiritual strength to fully match yours, does not mean that I am helpless against a full-out assault. Strength does not always with the battle."
"Geez, you're scary sometimes, Fox," Kalerian complains. "Could you not go all spooky when I'm carrying you?" A sheepish smile, that frozen mask melting away.
"Sorry, Mizu." Kohaku rolls her eyes.
"She's your cousin all right, Kurama."
The fox-ningen contrives to look innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about." The four that weren't there for the talk between the Four and the demon pair of T. U. look confused as everyone else starts laughing. Even Hiei's smirk has shifted into a tiny little smile.
====
A couple days later, on the way to school, Ranma, Akane, and the Quartet are all walking together. For some reason Rei and Kohaku are wearing short bike shorts underneath their skirts. Then again, since they're playing leapfrog with all the boys (Ranma too) up on the fence it's likely the girls have given thought to boys who might try to look up their skirts.
"You know, Akane, you should remember to wear shorts next time," Kohaku tells their groundbound friend with a smile as she springboards off Ranma's back. "That way, we can teach you to fencewalk and all the games to sharpen your skills." She lands neatly on the fence and crouches down for the next player, Kalerian, to bounce off and take her place in the lead.
"No thanks," Akane says regretfully, "but it'd just give those bakas another excuse of some kind. It does look fun, though." Everyone freezes a moment as the sound of the warning bell reaches them. They're still eight blocks from school, with only two minutes to get there. As one, they all crouch down and take off running, only Rei and Ranma keeping to the fence, everyone else taking to the sidewalk in their fast sprint.
Instead of her once-accustomed yell of 'I hate boys' Akane now unleashes on the pack of stupidly-hopeful boys with a joyful whoop, glancing over at Rei once she's finished thrashing them with an expectant smile. "Five seconds!" is the answer as the group rushes inside, trampling over the Hawaiian-crazy Principal Kuno in the process. They make it to their class and slide into their seats just as the bells rings and Hinako-sensei walks in as a teenaged girl. Since Ranma's shutdown of her ki-draining technique, she has slowly been aging into her proper adult--and highly attractive--body. Naturally the boys of the school, excluding Ranma, are ecstatic at the thought. The universal comment from the girls? 'You would be.'
"A new record!" Kohaku whispers to Akane while Hinako-sensei calls role. "Congrats!"
"No talking, please!"
"Sorry, sensei!"
"I assume you all have finished your projects?" A universal groan, rewarded with a wry smile. "That's what I thought. Who wants to go first?"
Reluctantly, the friends raise their hands and are called up to the front of the class.
====
"Hey, Rei-chan! Where are you going?" Kalerian calls when Rei splits off from their group after school and starts heading north.
"To a temple on the north side of town," Rei calls back, turning so that she is actually trotting backwards, effortlessly dodging sidewalk hazards. "I'll be back in a few hours. I think," she adds to herself under her breath.
"Okay!" is the mildly curious reply, and the other wave at her as they go their separate ways. As soon as they're out of sight, she drops the falsely cheerful smile and starts blurring over the rooftops, Hiei's words ringing in her head like an accusation. "I was under the impression that your skill levels are on par with Kurama. Yet you manage to hold your own against the strongest of our team." That had brought her hard back down to reality from the dizzying heights that a fabulous sparring session had sprung her to.
As she runs, bookbag bouncing against her back, she tallies up the techniques she's able to practice now compared to when she first arrived at Nerima, and comes to a nasty conclusion. Since her arrival, she'd unlocked nearly twenty different techniques previously unavailable to her. That was not supposed to happen. At most, five or six techniques should have been hers to use, not quadruple that amount, and that was including the scrolls her 'father' had dug up.
The Tarot Deck, unused for a few days now that the novelty of having an accurate fortune teller has worn off, pulses against her hip in its special pouch in distinct warning. Damn. She'd have to do a reading on herself when she gets to the temple. The running, although not enough to seriously exert her, is more than 'snapping out' would do, and that faint edge of 'tired' will be necessary to do what she plans. Taking a deep breath, Rei increases her speed.
Fifteen minutes later (nearly an hour of travel if you did it the old-fashioned way, like driving) Rei comes to a quiet stop in front of a worn and rather small temple on the wooded outskirts of northern Nerima. She knows the few priests here fairly well, and knows that they will not interfere with her business.
Since she's not paying attention to kis or Threads, she is unaware that Hiei is once again watching her as a cure for his increasing boredom. He has his ki/rei firmly wrapped around him, and is shielding as hard as he possibly can, hoping that this once, he can see what the hell she's going to do.
"Yamato-san?" Rei calls out politely while walking up the worn cobblestone path to the temple's entrance. "Do you have a moment?"
"Ah, Kenobishi-san, welcome back to our humble temple," a round priest in burnt orange robes says cheerfully, coming into view from around the back of the small building. "What services do you need for today?"
"I need a warding circle, Yamato-san," Rei says bluntly, and the cheer vanishes.
"To keep out, or keep in?"
"To keep in."
"How large, at a guess?"
Rei considers, thinking hard about the rough dimensions of her project. "At a minimum, I'd have to say it'll need to cover at least a forty-foot diameter. Maybe a little bigger?"
"Ah," the man nods wisely, "you'll need the use of the Clearing, then, for a circle-ward that size."
"I'm afraid so. Any smaller, and the ward probably wouldn't hold." The two are walking around the building, effectively retracing Yamato's steps. Hiei follows, curiosity eating him alive. The two pass other priests and acolytes, some merely nodding, others being signaled by Yamato and joining the tiny procession, which stops at one of the largest naturally round clearings Hiei has ever seen. In the exact middle of it is a sacred tree, already ringed with protective wards and seals to keep it safe. Rei vanishes a moment from even his awareness and returns a moment later, wearing a simple undyed cotton yukata and barefoot.
She goes and kneels so that her back faces the tree while she faces the entrance to the clearing. The priests all start muttering and chanting and waving incense burners around--giving Hiei the beginnings of a headache--and hanging those odd lightning-shaped pieces of origami on a red silk cord that has already bound all but the clearing's entrance. With a final, unintelligible command Yamato links the dangling end of the cord to the other and hangs one last piece of paper, this one a flat piece covered in complex symbols, most of them unreadable to the koorime.
The ward flows upwards into a dome with a breath-stealing rush of warm air, and Rei nods to the priests as the dome closes above her, shimmering a faint pearl and licked with bolts of purple 'lightning'. Hiei sits back and for a fleeting moment wishes that he had a bucket of that stuff humans call 'popcorn'. This is bound to be an interesting show.
Inside the warding shield, Rei takes another deep breath and smiles. This should do nicely. She should really remember to thank Kami the next time she's called for a session with the Higher Ups for unassuming, incurious priests that can build a ward that even Fate has a hard time cracking. Which is precisely why she's come here.
Slowly, and with infinite care and patience she unravels her energy from the tight spool she usually keeps it in, locked behind her lowest ribs, her own kind of seal on the thing. As it uncoils, she finds the Chaos-eaten cracks and stressed points in that seal's armor, and mutters a quiet curse at the blasted Meddler and his corrosive influence. Hiei is getting an interesting show from his vantage point--another tree, of course. Within the shield, faintly obscured by the ward's manifestation, a long thin rope in the colors of Rei's ki is expanding outwards from her body, filling the empty space in the ward within moments and brushing against the shield, creating sparks that die almost instantly. He wonders if she's simply unwinding her ki to see how much she has, and marvels privately that she has so much and yet he can feel nothing on this side of the ward.
When she feels that she has unwound as much ki as she possibly can without shattering the ward, Rei reaches into the pocket of her yukata and takes out her Tarot Deck, now pulsing rapidly with a dark red energy. "Yes, yes, I know, I should have called you up ages ago," Rei mutters to the irate deck, reaching with one hand to lay them on the soft grass and shuffling them. Automatically her hand sets out the pattern of the fortune, a spiral this time. One by one she flips the seven cards over, and draws her breath in as a hiss. "If I release any more the shield will crack, and yet you want me to seal away that much more?" She flips the last card and grins sheepishly. "In stages, of course. I think all this energy's going to my head." The deck sparks once, briefly, and Rei sticks out her tongue in a childish gesture. "Ehh, be quiet, you."
Hiei is almost willing to swear that a quiet, rather masculine chuckle echoes from the cards as Rei studies the energy she has loosened. "Higher Ups," she mutters to herself while her hands move in a complicated pattern, "I didn't realize I'd been channeling so much power. No wonder I've unlocked so many techniques. This would have screwed everything if I'd left it undone." It? Hiei wonders to himself. What is this crazy girl even doing?
He gets his answer a few moments later as the loose energy suddenly begins to vanish into the thin air above Rei's steepled fingertips. No, not vanish, he realizes a breath later, but changes, changes into a jewel the size of his thumb that glitters with immortal fire. When all the energy is sucked into the newly-formed gem, Rei pockets the stone and repeats the process, forming a second, smaller stone that glitters with the same fire. Holding her breath and bracing herself for the worst, Rei takes the first stone back out and touches the two together, and sighs in relief when the only result is a seamless melding of the two into an even larger stone.
Kurama'd love to get his hands on a stone like that, is Hiei's distracted thought when Rei stands after gathering her cards back up and stowing them safely away. She wobbles a bit, but the wobble isn't the kind Hiei is familiar with, the exhaustion of overworked muscles pushed too far. No, this is a newer-seeming wobble; the unsteadiness of a foal trying out its new legs. Carefully Rei touches the sacred tree and speaks clearly, "Yamato-san, I have finished my work. Please come and bring down the barrier."
Interestingly enough, the summons seems to work, for Yamato comes walking up to the clearing a few minutes later, carrying a sword that positively reeks to Hiei of holy energy. It's nearly giving him hives, trying to cleanse the darkness away from his soul. But he wants the darkness, needs the darkness, if he wants to keep himself safe for another mumble-something number of centuries. The blade gives up and turns its blind attention to the severing of the paper holding the ward closed.
When it is two scraps of paper fluttering to the lush grass, Rei pads out of the circle and sneezes, hard, but fortunately not in Yamato's direction. "Gah," is her complaint, "resealing always sets my allergies on its ear."
"You've resealed, Kenobishi-san? Is there a direct purpose for such a task?" Rei nods, knowing that this is all the questioning that the priest will allow himself.
"Yes, and yes. Unfortunately, by the bindings placed on me by several of our Watchers--" Hiei can hear the capitalization on that one word "--I can't tell you why. Perhaps, if we see each other again in a few months I can tell you then. Agreed?"
"Agreed, honored one." Rei frowns playfully at him.
"Please, Yamato-san, just stick with the 'san' yourself. Formality tends to smother."
"As you wish, Kenobishi-san. Is there anything else you need assistance with?"
"No, I think the ward about covers it. Do you have any messages for the others?"
"No, Kenobishi-san. Thank you."
"No, thank you, Yamada-san. Your temple has the strongest wards I know. And that is saying something." The two exchange a few more pleasantries, and then bid each other good-bye, Rei trotting more steadily that a few minutes ago back down the cobblestone path. The whole thing--arrival, warding, transmuting, and the farewell--has taken nearly three hours total.
Hiei waits until she gets a good mile or so away from the temple before dropping in front of her and fixing her with one of his 'looks'. Rei squeaks in startlement, one hand closed in a fist flying at his face--which he easily catches, disapproval in his garnet eyes. "Five hours ago you would've laid me out flat. Now you're no faster than Kurama. What exactly did you do back there?"
Rei tries to tug her hand out of Hiei's grasp and scowls at him. "You are a very nosy demon, Hiei."
"And you do not have the strength to fuel those techniques I would find troublesome." Rei snarls in a very canine way, as good as telling him that this accusation is true. "Are you going to tell me or do I try cracking those shields of yours?" His face is grim--he means every word. "Some very deep water is whirling around you, ningen girl, and it's starting to splash my feet. I want to know what it is before I have to go swimming."
Rei surrenders with a sigh, and Hiei allows her to lower her fist, his slender fingers still wrapped around her wrist. "Do you want the long version, or the short one?"
"Besides length, is there a difference?"
"One makes sense and the other probably doesn't."
"Obviously, the one that makes sense." His eyes narrow as she begins to fidget.
"That's the long version, and I'm not certain how much I can tell you."
Hiei releases her wrist and crosses his arms. "Then tell me what you can."
"That's the short version." He breathes out in an aggravated sigh.
"Just tell me, damn it."
"I had to seal away about sixty-nine percent of my strength because of…well…you know I'm a fortune teller, right?" A nod. "Well, my cards have been screeching about an event that takes place about a month and a half from now that will determine the course of a specific life in this city. A very, very important life."
"And who would that be?" But Rei gets that stubborn look on her face, the one Hiei knows means she's about to turn the tables on him.
"I'll tell you on one condition: you tell me why you let Yusuke's Spirit Gun hit you from behind when you were fighting each other."
"Who told you about that?"
"Koenma. He's got a really nice tape of it, start to finish. And all those eyes in your demonic form are fully functional. You had to have seen it coming." To her surprise, a tiny smile curves those lips, and he almost looks smug.
"I saw his potential. He was going to be more interesting to me if he was alive than if I killed him. After all--" he cocks his head to one side, waiting for her to finish the thought, which she does, reluctantly.
"'A bored demon is a dangerous demon'. All right, I understand. You wanted to know who the catalyst is, ne?"
"Hai." His answer is short, brusque, and implacable.
"You remember that pig-tailed boy that met up with us after the sparring match with Yusuke?" Hiei's eyebrow goes up.
"Him? What was his name--Ranma Saotome, you called him." His eyebrows creep higher. "He's the one you were talking about? But he's a pure-blood human! A mere boy!"
"Funny how us mere human children are capable of so much strength," she says quietly, reminding him of what the jewel she's rolling in her palm contains. "So, Hiei, are you telling me that you're actually precognitive?"
Hiei suddenly finds the undersides of the overhead branches utterly absorbing. "The Jagan Eye grants many gifts."
"And takes away just as much for them, Mr. Ex-'A' class demon." Hiei glares up at her, but jerks his temper under control when her face shows none of the amusement her voice holds. "Checks and balances, Hiei. Checks and balances. You got that Eye implanted for a specific reason, and it took a great deal of your power and sealed it away. Thanks to your training, you're unlocking that power again, but you will never again have full use for as long as you keep that Eye."
"What do you know about my reasons?" Hiei hisses, his hackles rising on the back of his neck. Rei reaches into her pocket without looking and pulls out a Tarot Card: a picture of a slender crowned woman holding aloft a large goblet, the Queen of Cups. A second card is produced, the Death Card upside-down in her grasp but the image of a cloaked man holding a scythe is unmistakable.
"These cards represent two people, the first represents the ice-maiden Yukina, the second, you. Through the cards--" and your Threads "--I've seen your connection to her. And don't go jumping to conclusions about the Death card, either. It's not actually death, it's a situation. You've locked yourself away, and this card tells any reader that. You can't let go of who you are or what you have done. And do you know what her card tells me?"
Hiei just glares at her, waiting. Rei sighs and taps his nose with a corner. "This card is the emotionally sensitive female. It means, Hiei, that even if she were to find you of worse temperament and deeds than the elder Toguro, she would not care. That is the kind of person she is. She would find more joy in her knowledge than sorrow, if any of that dark emotion at all."
"And you are so right, aren't you?" His reply is sarcastic, but her words seem to shame him.
"More than you are to ever know, Hiei." And she does one of those indescribable shifts back into her usual, fun-loving persona. "Now, shall we get home before it gets dark? I'm sure Mama wouldn't mind if I invited you to dinner."
Giving in, Hiei begins to walk her home; drained as she is from the sealing and the use of her available energy, she cannot simply 'snap out'. "What about the rest of it? What is this event that takes place?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned about, Hiei," is her flat retort. "It involves the residents of the Nerima District, and Nerima alone. Beyond that I can't--"
"How the hells did I end up at Half-Moon Temple??" an aggravated voice shouts from behind them, and the two turn to find a rather worn-looking Ryoga standing a few hundred yards away, glaring in frustration at the battered GPS device in his hand. "Damn it all, you're supposed to get me to the Tendo Dojo!"
Rei grins all of a sudden and pulls Hiei with her behind a tree, pitching her voice to sound like a male. "If you follow the trail for about five miles and turn right on Toya Street, you can probably get there a lot faster."
Ryoga's face lights with hope as he walks towards them. "That'll lead me to Tendo Dojo?"
"Nah, that'll get you to a place called the Cat Café. I'm sure they have directions." Looking a bit annoyed, Ryoga comes around and sees her smiling at him as she says in her normal voice, "Besides, I hear they have a pretty cute waitress there."
"Rei-chan!" Hug. A muffled 'oomph' and a pained 'ouch!' a moment later. Once again, a rumpled Rei gives him a half-hearted glare as she rubs bruised ribs.
"How many times to I hafta tell you? Keep squishing me like that and you aren't going to be getting many hugs."
====================================
Okay, a smidge past six pages is enough for a bit. I have to work out the next couple of chapters. Goodie. You lucky people, I didn't feel like ending on a cliff-hanger tonight.
Starling: You must be tired.
Yeah, even this DDR track Ben burned for me isn't waking me up. I'm probably gonna crash soon. I'll try and get the next chapter out soon, everyone! Ja, and read and review, please!